The Lakers are not taking Richard Jefferson & Andris Biedrins off our hands for nothing!

Are those 2 expiring contracts this year? I just can't see them taking the luxury tax hit on those 2 Bozos especially seen all indications are they WILL NOT Amnesty Kobe!

But in terms of having Kobe not amnestied and the expirers of Jefferson & Biedrins could make the LAKERS players at the Allstar break to swing in the expirer contracts for a legitamate disgruntled well paid allstar player

The Golden State Warriors are working hard to shed contract obligations and carve out space under the salary cap for a run at Howard or another big-name free agent.

The Golden State Warriors are moving aggressively to carve out $20 million in salary cap space for a run at free-agent center Dwight Howard, and they've already engaged the Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers and Utah Jazz in trade talks, but that doesn't mean their entire plan is dependent on signing Howard. Golden State's trade efforts are "only a preemptive strike," and the franchise is "intent on clearing room regardless of Howard's decision," according to Ken Berger of CBS Sports. If the talented big man chooses to sign elsewhere, the Warriors may pursue free-agent wing man Andre Iguodala.

To clear $20 million from their books for an outright free-agent contract offer for Howard, the Warriors would need to move Andrew Bogut, Richard Jefferson and Andris Biedrins. Golden State has at least offered those three veterans to rivals teams like the Cavaliers, Hawks and Jazz, but Bogut is the only player with real value on the floor for next season. Klay Thompson and Harrison Barnes have come up as vital pieces in any sign-and-trade scenarios with the Lakers, so if Golden State can't move their three veterans they could still work out a creative deal to land Howard anyway. L.A. reportedly does not want to take on any large future obligations, because the franchise is planning to bid on big-name free agents again in the summer of 2014. Multiple first-round picks may be needed to sweeten the deal for a third team in a sign-and-trade situation.

As for the Iguodala contingency in Golden State, it's an interesting backup plan. The talented wing man is the No. 4 free agent on Tom Ziller's list for this summer, and the Kings recently pulled back an offer to Iguodala because he isn't interested in playing for a rebuilding team. The Warriors have the offensive pieces in place to shift the scoring load away from Iguodala and allow him to focus his energy on defense. For now, things are dependent on Howard.

The uncertainty surrounding Dwight Howard's decision in free agency has forced the Lakers to reconsider sign-and-trade scenarios for the star big man.

NBA superstar center Dwight Howard has yet to provide any public indication of where he will choose to sign his next mega deal, but the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets now feel good enough about their chances that they've started to prepare sign-and-trade offers for the Los Angeles Lakers that feature players like Harrison Barnes, Klay Thompson, Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin.

Howard has the raw talent to fundamentally alter the course of a franchise, and with a variety of rumors swirling around, the Lakers have realized the need to prepare contingency plans. L.A. is now "bracing for the worst" and reconsidering its stance on sign-and-trade scenarios, so the Rockets and Warriors are priming fresh offers, according to Marc Stein and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.

Most experts had initially assumed that the Lakers would be unwilling to take on any obligations in a sign-and-trade, because the franchise will certainly be involved in free agent bidding during the summer of 2014. Now L.A. is losing confidence that Howard will re-sign, and both the Warriors and Rockets appear willing to part with valuable pieces to facilitate a trade to give them more salary cap flexibility.

The Warriors are "aggressively attempting to trade away players" to clear space, but they would need to shed roughly $30 million in obligations to do so. Trading Andrew Bogut ($14 million), Richard Jefferson ($11 million) and Andris Biedrins ($9 million) would do the trick, but that's not an easy task. The ESPN report suggest that the Lakers would be willing to consider a sign-and-trade deal if either Klay Thompson or Harrison Barnes is added to a package that includes Bogut. A future first-round pick could always be used to sweeten the deal, and a third team could be used to take on any additional veterans.

The Rockets plan to offer Jeremy Lin -- who played his best basketball under Lakers head coach Mike D'Antoni -- and Omer Asik if the opportunity arises, but that deal would test L.A.'s dedication to the 2014 free agent class, because those are long-term contracts that run beyond next year. Houston would aim for such a trade as a way to free up space to sign free agent forward Josh Smith, who is a friend of Howard.

I don't anything to do with Dwight, but as BF said, the Lakers are in no position to demand anything, they can lose Dwight for nothing. They want expiring contracts? AB and RJ are exactly enough money to exchange for Dwight. Throw in ONE future 1st rounder and they can consider themselves lucky. Bogut stays, is a great backup and can either leave for a starting job elsewhere after next season or resigns for cheap, like seven million a year.

A trade of Lee for Love would make the team ginormous and championship favourites.